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US Retailers are feeling jittery. Consumers aren’t shopping like they used to.

www.cnn.com Retailers jacked up prices and squeezed consumers. They might have just blinked | CNN Business

Retailers are feeling jittery. Consumers aren’t shopping like they used to. In a game of chicken between stores and shoppers, it’s the stores that appear to be yielding first, by dropping prices on thousands of products.

16 comments

It's simple; people spend money when they feel like they have money.

Spend four decades lauding billionaires and suddenly folks realize that the 'first class' items they can afford are mere trinkets, so why bother? If the King has a golden coach with ten horses, why bother getting a fine horse of your own? That old mule is cheaper and goes as fast.

If it costs $20.00 to eat at McDonald's I'll just buy a steak and cook it myself.
- It's approx $40 to get fastfood for my family of 4 now. Those were sit down restaurant prices a few years ago.
  
  Look at things like tickets to pro games or concerts. Teenagers used to get those with after school jobs.
  
  And the meal is smaller than ever. I went to McDonalds the other day and got a fish fillet sandwich. It was comically smaller than the last time I bought one. I guess the next time I buy one (assuming that ever happens) it will be on the atomic scale.
  
  I happened to see this discussion on Reddit last night: What's something you've stopped eating because it's become too expensive?
  
  Hundreds and hundreds of people who apparently didn't get the memo that the economy is just super-duper right now.
- Yeah it's true. All the products I see for sale are unappealing and make me think "Who asked for this?" And anything I would pay for doesn't seem to exist because "Oh that's too expensive to manufacture". Feels bad dude.
  
  I ask people 'when was the last time you had something that was "the best"?"
  
  Unless it's some obscure tech/hobbyist item, it's been a while. First class airfare sin't as good as a private jet, and front row concert tickets aren't as good as a sky box.
If you want people to spend money, they have to have money to spend. Stop concentrating wealth in the ownership class.
I am surprised no one told them that the economy is doing well. I know that sure put my mind to rest when we had to tighten the belt.
- Maybe they should cut back on avocado toast and fancy coffee?
This is the best summary I could come up with:

That’s a problem not just for individual shoppers or even big retail chains but for the whole American economy, of which about two-thirds comes from consumer spending.

A slew of retailers in recent weeks have announced price cuts as they strive to pull consumers into stores and entice them to spend money on things like new clothes, decorative items for the home and arts and crafts or hobby kits.

It’s telling that these are categories considered to be discretionary purchases, meaning things that are nice to have but maybe aren’t everyday necessities in the same vein as groceries and medicine.

Retail sales rose 0.7% in March from the prior month, a slower pace than February’s upwardly revised 0.9% gain, according to the latest government report.

“It’s more important than ever to deliver exceptional value for every customer looking to stretch their dollar,” Ashley Buchanan, CEO at Michaels, said in a statement announcing the new discounts on April 18.

Last week, restaurant and kids’ entertainment chain Chuck E. Cheese announced what it called “budget-friendly” efforts to make it a more affordable destination for families.

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